Analysis of employer-sponsored health insurance costs in 41 U.S. metropolitan areas shows a 61 percent average increase in premiums for family coverage from 2003 to 2011, and a 21 percent increase over the past three years. Growth in family coverage premiums ranged from 35 percent in Sacramento, Calif., to 87 percent in Columbia, S.C. A similar trend was observed for individual insurance coverage: in 20 of the metro areas, single-person premiums increased at least 50 percent. If the average rate of growth seen over the past eight years continues to the year 2020, the cost of family coverage in 18 of these 41 metro areas will exceed $25,000.

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The mission of The Commonwealth Fund is to promote a high-performing health care system that achieves better access, improved quality, and greater efficiency, particularly for society's most vulnerable, including low-income people, the uninsured, minority Americans, young children, and elderly adults.